Franklin had been in the darkness for god knows how long. His watch was broken, and so was his torch and fshlight. He could only sit in the dark and await his bleak fate. He met a pair of strange individuals. They were not humans, he knew that much. They were the envoys of the gods, or so he would like to believe. They saved him when he was on the verge of death. His wounds were deep. Even with modern medicine, the wounds he had were not something that could be easily treated. The potion he drank worked wonders. Death suddenly felt far away when he was so close to it.

  Regardless of whether the two were truly envoys of the gods, they were not his enemies. Moreover, they cimed to have come here to deliver them from perdition. They would save his comrades. Truth to be told, he was not hopeful, but he couldn’t, in good conscience, simply leave this pce without trying to save them. It had been at least two hours since they left. He drifted in and out of sleep. His wounds were healed, but the blood he lost had not been replenished. He was still in no state to walk or even stand. As he waited, he heard eerie sounds and strange noises. He had his piece on him, but it was all out of ammo. Still, he took it out and wielded it in his hands. He hoped that he could at least trick whatever was in the darkness into thinking that his gun was still loaded.

  Then, the sounds and noises became louder and louder. He became convinced that it was just in his head. He held the gun close to his chest and positioned himself so that he was facing the darkness.

  The noises grew. It was now evident that something was truly approaching. The steps were heavy. Franklin could hear the breathing. “Who’s there!?” he shouted as he raised his gun and took aim.

  “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Don’t shoot, Franklin! It’s just us!” Alex quickly identified themselves before the man could pull the trigger.

  Franklin lowered his gun when he saw familiar faces emerging from the darkness. “A-Alex? Barry? You’re alive?”

  “Of course, we’re alive. We’re here, aren’t we?”

  Franklin broke into a wide smile. “Thank god… Thank fucking god…” he sighed in absolute relief. His expression turned even brighter when he saw yet another familiar face behind the two. “Chloe, you made it!”

  “You’re not surprised that I’m alive?” Chloe questioned in jest.

  “Come on, Chloe. Everyone knows what you can do. If anyone’s surviving this ordeal, it would surely be you. If it wasn’t for you… I wouldn’t have made it.”

  “You were half dead. I won’t take all the credit. You owe some thanks to him, too.”

  Franklin turned his thankful smile and grateful gaze to the two at furthermost back. “Thank you, you two. Thank you so much.”

  “Fine,” Henry sighed. “You’re welcome.” He reluctantly accepted the gratitude since the guy was so insistent.

  After looking around some more, his expression dimmed a little. His gaze fell on Ani’s right shoulder, which was missing an arm. “Your arm… It’s—”

  “It’s nothing,” Ani said. “You don’t need to worry about it.”

  Seeing Ani’s gentle smile, accompanied by her words of assurance, Franklin couldn’t bring himself to press the matter. They were truly out of this world, he became even more convinced. A missing arm was something to brush off so easily without any worries.

  “Are you alright?” Henry asked. “You seemed quite out of it. If you’re worried about her arm, don’t. She will have her arm back.”

  “I know. It’s not that. It’s just… I have to ask. Is there no one else?” he asked as hesitantly as he looked.

  “Unfortunately, we are the only ones who made it out. Well, I won’t say we made it out, but— yes, it’s just us. There’s no one else.”

  “I see…” Franklin lowered his head. “Fuck… This sucks.”

  “Hey, come on. Why the long faces? We’re alive, aren’t we?”

  “We were a team of twenty, Alex. Now, there are only four of us. I am grateful that we are still alive, but this is not something we should be cheering about. Not to mention, what would the others say about us when we get out of here?”

  “I don’t know,” Alex scoffed. “I don’t care. I’m alive and I’m gonna be happy about it. Besides, we won’t be the ones taking most of the heat. You know that, right?”

  Franklin’s face contorted with anger. “You son of a bitch! You shameless fucker!” He tried to get up, but he couldn’t make it past two feet before dropping back on his rear.

  “What? I’m just telling the truth here.”

  “Alex, enough.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Not you too, Barry.”

  “Alex, stop this, you idiot. Have some tact. We are not out of the woods yet.”

  As if only realising this very fact, Alex’s confidence dwindled and he timidly gnced at Chloe’s expression.

  Chloe could only roll her eyes and shake her head. “Let us keep moving. Like Barry said, we’re not out of the woods yet. Alex, you will carry Franklin.”

  “What? Me? I’m—”

  “I am not asking, Alex. Do it, now.”

  “Fine,” Alex groaned and went to help Franklin to his feet.

  Chloe turned to Henry after that. “Well, the exit is just a few yards ahead. We would be out of here in ten or twenty minutes. What about the two of you?”

  “This is the end, huh?” said Henry. “It may be distasteful for me to say this, but… it’s been fun.”

  “It truly has,” Ani giggled. “It’s such a shame that we have to part ways here.”

  “Oh, please. We will meet again. Someday, I think.”

  “Perhaps, but who knows when that will be? Maybe the next time we meet, you will be an old woman.”

  “Whoa, there. Even I’m not that pessimistic.”

  “I meant what I said, Chloe. You’re welcome to join me.”

  “I would love to, Henry. I truly do. But… I have commitments here. My family and friends are here. I can’t just… ditch them.”

  “You won’t have to, Chloe. You don’t have to.”

  “I don’t?” Chloe asked with a confused look.

  “You don’t.” Henry nodded. “You can still visit them once in a while. Maybe once every three months, or something like that?”

  “That easy? I can just come and go?”

  “Why do you think you won’t? You already know I can travel between dimensions.”

  “I know that, but still… I didn’t think you could travel between dimensions with such ease.”

  “Well, it’s not easy, but if it’s you, it won’t be a problem.”

  “If it’s me? Why is that?”

  Henry smiled. “I’m a demi-god, Chloe. People who receive my affection are also granted some of the divine benefits.”

  “...Your affection? Uh… I’m not sure I follow.”

  “Well, then. Allow me to be clear. Chloe, will you be willing to—”

  The static cry from a radio somewhere nearby interrupted the blossoming mood. The air instantly turned heavy and grim. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks as if sheer cold had instantly taken hold of everyone. Henry was the first to recover. His gaze was pulled to the object that was making such a noise. It came from the handheld radio on one of the corpses.

  “Chloe, what does that mean?” Henry asked as he approached the radio.

  “Someone’s tuning their radio to this frequency,” answered Chloe. She broke free from her stupefaction and rushed to the radio hastily. “Someone’s still alive,” She knelt before the corpse and shuffled the pockets until she found the radio. It was still producing static noises when she found it. She turned the small knob on top of the radio and the static noises gradually turned into something more coherent and comprehensible.

  “I-is anyone there!? Hello? Anyone!? Please answer! If there’s anyone there, please answer!”

  It was a cry for help. It was the voice of a woman.

  “Jane? Is that you?” Chloe responded in an instant.

  “Chloe?” the voice also responded just as quickly.

  “Yes, it’s me! I hear you, loud and clear! Jane, where are you?”

  “Chloe! Oh, thank god. Chloe, you’re alive.”

  “Jane, where are you?” Chloe repeated.

  “I-I don’t know! It’s d-dark. Everywhere looks the same.”

  “Is there anything you can see there that might stand out? Anything at all.”

  “I don’t know, Chloe. I can’t barely see anything.”

  “Come on, Jane. There must be something.”

  “...I’m in some sort of cavern. Or at least I think it’s a cavern. I have tried wandering a little and the space here certainly isn’t narrow enough to be a tunnel.”

  “Okay. A cavern. There are only so many caverns. Better than tunnels. What else?”

  “I-I… I don’t know. Everything’s outndish. Everything’s the same. I don’t see anything that might stand—” Jane fell silent in a heartbeat.

  “Jane? Jane?! Are you still there?”

  “Shit… Shit,” Jane cursed, but it was barely a whisper.

  Sensing the dire situation, Chloe also lowered her voice. “Jane, what’s happening?”

  “Something’s in the darkness. It’s not one of those dog beasts. It’s… I don’t know what it is. It’s tall. It’s thin. It’s—”

  “Jane, listen to me. Hide. You have to hide now.”

  “I am hiding. I’m hiding behind a rock right now. I’m—”

  The line went dead all of a sudden, leaving only a streak of static noise.

  “Jane… Jane?” Chloe called out, but the static noises persisted for a few seconds before completely dying out. She gripped the radio tightly. She stared at it for a solid moment before pocketing it and striding in the direction in which they had just come.

  “Chloe, no.” Henry stopped her.

  “Let go of me, Henry.”

  “Chloe, think this through.”

  “Already have, Henry. Now, let me go.”

  “No, you haven’t thought this through. Come to your senses. This cave is a maze. How are you going to find her just because she said she’s in a cavern? We do not know how many caverns there are in this cave.”

  “I don’t care. I am not going to abandon her. I will find her.”

  “You will not find her!”

  “I don’t care!”

  “I do!” Henry roared. “You will not find her… but I will.”

  “Huh? You will?”

  “Yes, I will.”

  “And why would you do that?”

  Henry sighed. “Because it’s your wish and it’s within my capacity. You go ahead, I will go find your squadmate.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “No. We are not out of the woods yet. They still need you, in case something happens.” Henry turned to Ani. “You too.”

  Ani pointed at herself. “M-me? Why?”

  Henry smiled wryly. “You’re missing an arm, Ani. And I need to move fast. Stay with them, please.”

  Ani sighed. “I understand. Will you be alright by yourself?”

  “When have I not been?”

  “You know what I mean, Henry.”

  “I know. Just… stick with them. You may be missing an arm, but you are still more capable than any of them.”

  “I’m right here, you know?” said Chloe.

  Henry chuckled and snuck a peck on her forehead.

  Chloe jumped away in surprise, clutching her forehead. “Y-you…! You kissed me.”

  “That’s not a kiss.” Ani grinned. “This is a kiss,” she said and pulled Henry into a deep embrace of lips and tongues.

  Chloe flinched as she witnessed the couple’s exchange of passion. She wanted to look away but something compelled her to watch. She wasn’t a stranger to watching other couples kissing. She even had some experience herself. However, she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed yet somehow entranced when she saw the two embrace.

  The kiss sted for a minute before the two eventually parted from one another.

  “Alright, alright. You two have made your point. Now, can you please get going?” Chloe entreated.

  “I won’t be long,” Henry said and began to return to the darkness that they had emerged from. “But if I’m gone for long, pray.”

  “What? Pray?”

  Henry didn’t eborate and simply disappeared into the darkness.